Area A. A circular structure (inner diam. 7.5 m, outer diam. 9 m; Figs. 2, 3) was exposed. It consisted of a circumferential wall (W3) and two intersecting internal walls (W6, W7; Fig. 4) that divided it into four rooms (L104, L105, L117, L120). The walls of the building (width 0.85 m) were founded on bedrock and constructed of small and medium limestone rocks (0.2 × 0.4 × 0.4 m), some of which were roughly hewn. A floor foundation made of limestone cobble-sized stones was discovered in the building (Fig. 4). Room 105 was excavated in its entirety, whereas the other rooms were only partially investigated so as to define the boundaries of the building and its plan. The entrance to the building was not exposed; it seems that it was situated on a higher level, which did not survive.
 
A few fragments of pottery vessels were discovered, most of which were found in the collapse above the building. The pottery includes bag-shaped jars with a long neck (Fig. 5:4, 5) and a jug (Fig. 5:6) dating from the end of the Byzantine–beginning of the Early Islamic period, as well as a jug (Fig. 5:7) and a base of a juglet (Fig. 5:8) dating from the Byzantine period. An intact juglet (Fig. 5:9) attributed to the Byzantine period was discovered on the floor of Room 120. In addition, fragments of terra-cotta pipes—42 rims and 122 body fragments (Fig. 5:10)—were found. Terra-cotta pipes were previously found in buildings identified as columbaria (Hirschfeld and Tepper 2006: Fig. 6).
 
The archaeozoological assemblage was mainly composed of dove bones, a few rodent bones and one bone of an animal from the Felidae family (Table 1). The dove bones were mostly large bones from the pelvis and upper skeletal parts, belonging to adult birds and some chicks. No signs of cutting or butchering were discerned on the bones.
 
Table 1. Archaeozoological finds
Skeletal Part
Dove
Rodent
Feline
Mandible
 
1
 
Coracoid
3
 
 
Humerus
14
1
 
Ulna
3
 
 
Carpometacarpus
3
 
 
Femur
5
1
 
Tibiotarsus
5
 
 
Tarsometatarsus
2
 
 
Phalanges
 
 
1
Total
35
3
1
 
Area B yielded a square structure (6.2 × 6.8 m; Figs. 6, 7). Its walls (max. width 0.7 m) were built of two rows of small and medium-sized stones (0.3 × 0.4 × 0.4 m), some of which were roughly hewn. A probe (L115; Fig. 9) was excavated in the northwestern corner of the structure, exposing six or seven courses of the building’s walls. A light-colored layer (L108; thickness 0.2–0.3 m) containing small stones and crushed chalk was exposed at the elevation of the upper course. This layer was discerned between the walls of the building, suggesting that it is the foundation of the building’s floor. A level of small and medium-sized stones (L102) was exposed just south of the building. Several fragments of pottery vessels were discovered beneath Layer 108, including a large cooking casserole (Fig. 5:1) that ranges in date from the Late Roman period to the Early Islamic period, as well as a cooking pot with a high neck, straight handle and an everted rim (Fig. 5:2) and a bag-shaped jar (Fig. 5:3), both from the Byzantine period.
 
The two structures exposed in the excavation were probably part of the agricultural hinterland of the settlements in the area. The ceramic finds were similar to those discovered in other the excavations in Be’er Shevaʽ (Ustinova and Nahshoni 1994; Israel, Seriy and Feder 2013; Fantalkin 2000), and date the structures to the Byzantine period. The layout of the building in Area A and the dove bones and terra-cotta pipes discovered there indicate that the structure was used as a columbarium. The location of the building, far from a permanent settlement, indicates its connection to agriculture. The columbaria that were discovered in the Negev and dated to the Roman and Byzantine periods (Peretz and Shaul 2011; Peretz 2015; Hirschfeld and Tepper 2006; Tepper 2007) are evidence of intensive raising of doves in antiquity, possibly for their manure as a fertilizer.